January and February have been slow due to health reasons. I'm adjusting to new medication, re-learning how to sleep, and (bewildering) got bit by a dog and needed two stitches. But! I still got some nice stuff done.
I've implemented the mechanics of Holmes' mood and polished the interface. I've finished the core gameplay loop of the game. This is what it looks like:
Holmes Week Pattern / Gameplay Loop
- Book Meddle
- Case/Scene
- Watson Downtime
- Nightmare / Moriarty
Each loop is a week of time. Here are the parts in detail --
- Book Meddle
You start the week by meddling with Holmes' reading material, directing his focus to different things. This determines what skills he develops next week.
- Case/Scene
Then the game checks to see if there's a Case that happens this week--Cases are more important than everything else. If there isn't, it sees if there's a plot-related scene that needs to trigger. If there isn't, it plays a default scene for that month.
- Watson Downtime
Watson spends some time doing Watson things. He can explore London, spend time with Holmes, or work on writing 'A Study In Scarlet'. All sorts of stuff. Watson is initially very limited in how active he can be since he's still recovering from the injuries that brought him home from Afghanistan. But actions in game can speed his recovery, and create more things for him to do.
- Nightmare / Moriarty
At the end of the week, darker events have a chance of occurring. These come in two categories:
1. If Moriarty hasn't been invited over recently (an option in Watson's downtime), he will interject himself into Holmes and Watson's life and continue to build a rapport with Holmes.
2. Watson may have nightmares about the Anglo-Afghan war.